Summary: >

If you've seen Martian Successor Nadesico, you're familiar with the anime Akito and many on the show were obsessed with: Gekiganger III. This title covers the "Gekiganger movie", in which Akito, Yurika, and Ruri decide to watch at a theater. That's about as far as the tie in goes. It becomes something else as it starts... Wait what was Gekiganger III about again?

Long ago, the people from the neo-paleolithic era left a blueprint for a giant robot - Gekiganger III (what happened to 1 & 2? Who knows). From there the show goes into a wacky full on parody of mecha anime. The story is more like a collection from the fictional Gekiganger III series, so there's not much of a story to really describe...

Thoughts: >

Gekiganger III is a parody of mecha anime, however you need to keep in mind that there are two criteria you should qualify on before seeing this title that will likely affect your opinions on it. You can watch it having already seen Marital Successor Nadesico, and being familiar with it can understand how the silly anime goes. From this standpoint you've probably already seen a lot of Gekiganger, but it was always broken up into tiny segments. Personally, I saw this before I saw Nadesico. Let me tell you I found it amusing but probably should have seen the basis for this first.

As a parody this title goes full tilt into the same avenues that old giant robot anime series from the 70s used to do. Now being a fan of mecha anime isn't necessarily enough in order to "get" Gekiganger III, since newer mecha anime is very different from the giant robot anime of old. As such having at least a passing understanding/interest in series in the era of Voltron is probably required, although just understanding where those series were coming from is probably enough.

Note that many of my ratings are low because this anime is intentionally replicating a simplistic old school style. And you also must keep in mind that Gekiganger is a parody, and that's where the comedy lies, not so much in any explicit jokes. It's a fun title if you're into that old school stuff. Chances are you'll get a few laughs about how silly everything is. Not much on the Nadesico side, apart from a few teasers at the beginning and end.

** As an aside, the Gekiganger anime was actually featured in one episode of Nadesico. Akito watched Gekiganger all the time. But in an ingenious twist, the "recap" episode features the cast of Gekiganger watching Martian Successor Nadesico.